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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25408372">she's the friday night lights</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oliverslicity/pseuds/Oliverslicity'>Oliverslicity</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Arrow (TV 2012)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Football, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Sports, Angst, Coming of Age, Consensual Underage Sex, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Football, High School, Humor, Mentions of Taylor Swift, Mild Language, Minor Violence, Romantic Fluff, Smut, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Underage Drinking, Underage Sex, oliver is a swiftie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 03:36:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,186</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25408372</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oliverslicity/pseuds/Oliverslicity</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver has it all, he's rich, captain and quarterback of the football team, and can have any girl he wants. It's his senior year after the unexpected death of his father and he's determined to make the best of it and himself. Everything is looking up until he encounters a beautiful girl outside of his history class and his world is turned upside down when he realizes the only girl he wants is her. He hits it off instantly with Felicity Smoak, but what happens when she asks to join the football team and he tells her no?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>John Diggle/Lyla Michaels, McKenna Hall/Tommy Merlyn, Oliver Queen &amp; Felicity Smoak, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>140</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Fic or Dare Quarantine Game, Olicity Sport</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. all about the college hustle</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagusLibera/gifts">MagusLibera</a>, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/inlovewithimpossibility/gifts">inlovewithimpossibility</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi, so let me start by saying thank you to Jess, because this wouldn't have been posted so soon without her. So, thank you Jess. Now, thank you to anyone who's been awaiting this post or any post for any other fic, I know I've been inconsistent and apologize. If you follow me on twitter you know my life is kid of crazy right now and I don't have a lot of time to spare and my mental health isn't always great. Nonetheless thank you so much for reading, being patient and remaining awesome through that all. </p><p>I hope you enjoy yet another fic that stems from me losing to Cerys and Abby where they prompted I write this. This chapter's shortish, I anticipate it running about 5-7 chapters but if you know me you know I have little self control where that is concerned, but that's a good thing. </p><p>As noted in the tags there will be eventual smut as this is a coming of age fic I feel most teens explore. I will give warnings beforehand if that's not your thing. There will also be minor violence as it is American Football. Feel free to ask questions if you have any.</p><p>As always kudos and comments are never necessary, but always appreciated. ❤️</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Today is the start of his Senior year and Oliver’s ready. He officially ended his toxic on and off relationship with Laurel to better himself at the end of his Junior year, after his father passed in a boating accident and made him reevaluate what he wanted from life and the kind of man he wanted to be, and he realized he was nowhere close to that kind of man. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Then he spent the summer doing an internship at QC, training for football to solidify his athletic scholarships for college, studying for school to also further improve his chances of getting into college <em> without </em>his family name and paycheck, plus spending time with Thea and Tommy. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Now, it’s his year to prove to his mom that he is ready to step up, be responsible and be the best man he can be. But first, he has to get to class...because he has to start somewhere and that’s probably the best place to do so.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As Oliver reaches the door to his history class he sees a girl standing outside of the classroom, the hallway is nearly empty, aside from the stragglers and her. He only sees her from behind but something makes him stop. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Her blonde hair is up in a simple ponytail, she has her purple book bag hanging off one shoulder and she’s wearing a white sundress with flowers on the skirt with tan sandals. But she’s frozen. Oliver is trying to figure out who it is because everyone knows everyone in this school after all having grown up together, but she <em> looks </em>new. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>As he stands there Oliver feels his nerves start to spike and his stomach knot. He’s never felt this way just by being in a girls presence and it has him off kilter. Should he say something to her? Or should he wait for her to just go in? No, because then it would be harder to talk to her. So, he has to go now. Any minute his feet will carry him over there.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Taking a deep breath he walks up behind her, sure that his steps are loud enough for her to hear. Stopping behind her he asks,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey, is this your class too?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She startles a bit before whipping around causing him to catch a whiff of her lavender and coconut scent. When he does finally see her face, his heart stops and time must be frozen, or at least it feels like it because she is the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen in his seventeen years of life.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Gulping, Oliver takes her in, she’s shorter than him, barely clearing his chest, and wearing glasses with eyes so blue they could be carved out of the summer sky, her lips are painted a light pink, her small nose scrunches in curiosity as her head tilts. His gaze catches her industrial piercing, before returning to her eyes, her cheeks are tinted pink as she takes him in as well causing him to stand a little straighter.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“My class is here...yes...hi, I mean, yes this is my history class...hi…” She stuttered over her words and then paused closing her eyes, taking a deep breath and mouthing a back count from three making his mouth curl up in a smirk. As she opened her eyes, she looked up at him and gave him a small smile before saying, “Hi, I’m Felicity Smoak, yes this is my class, is it yours too?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m Oliver Queen and yeah, are you going in? It starts in like five minutes…” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I am, I’m just trying to get over first day jitters.” She said while looking at the door and then back at him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah...it must not be easy being new during your senior year...do you want to go in together?” As soon as the question left his lips his heart doubled in speed at the thought that she was going to say no. Only she didn’t, her small smile growing into a full one that was beautifully blinding as she nodded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oliver holds the door open as she goes in and everyone turns to look at them. She makes her way down the aisle of desks and he follows suit in the opposite row thinking he’ll sit behind wherever she sits. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felicity turns to open her bag, so Oliver leaps over the desk and into the chair behind the one she stops in front of. He goes to get his stuff out of his own bag when suddenly she sits in his lap. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>They both startle, only she doesn’t get up right away, no, Felicity stays there sitting in his lap, frozen and Oliver begs his body not to respond to her being on his lap. Finally, the situation catches up with her and she bounces off of his lap and turns looking down at what he’s sure is his equally shocked and amused face, saying,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Oh my god, Oliver I’m so sorry. I didn’t even realize you sat there and then I sat on you. Oh my god this is so embarrassing, have I said I’m sorry? Because I sat on your lap and I’m really sorry, not that it isn’t a nice lap or anything it’s just not a chair and I thought it was and-”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Getting over his initial shock and deciding now would be a good time to put her out of her misery Oliver interrupts her, “Fe-li-ci-ty…” Felicity’s mouth promptly shuts and the class is starting to quiet down from their own chatter and take notice of the new girl in the room, luckily not having seen anything else, “It’s fine really, I wanted to sit behind you and I thought you were going to sit in that desk, so I’m sorry but it’s fine. Plus, I liked having you in my lap…” He finishes the last part and then blushes because he really did not mean to say that outloud. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felicity smiles at his own slip up and says, “Oh...well okay. So, I’ll just sit here.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oliver nods as she takes the seat in front of him and puts her own things on her desk. He looks up in time to see his best friend, Tommy Merlyn walk in followed by Laurel and then the teacher. Tommy spots him and takes the desk next to him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hey man, what’re you doing here so early-,” Tommy pauses, finally noticing Felicity and Oliver inwardly groans because he <em> knows </em> Tommy is going to hit on her solely based on the fact that she’s new and she breathes air, “Hi, your new, and I’m not, maybe I can show you around.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>There’s a little smirk on his face as he says it, one that irritates Oliver to no end.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felicity turns around to look at Oliver with a quirked eyebrow, and he throws his head back to stare at the ceiling and pray to whatever higher being there is that Tommy doesn’t scare this beautiful girl away from him, then she looks at Tommy and says,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hi, <em> Not </em> , I’m Felicity actually and I do <em> not </em> need your help, <em> Not </em>, see I took a tour already so I know the school fairly well.” She gives him a smirk as if to challenge him then says, “Plus, I’m sure my friend Oliver here would help me if I had any questions at all, right Oliver?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oliver lets out a chuckle as he takes in Tommy’s surprised face. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It quickly turns into a smile at Felicity’s quick wit, then Oliver looks at Felicity and smiles at her before saying, “Yeah, definitely...maybe we could hangout? After school or after I get out of practice? I can give you my number?” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felicity goes to answer him when Tommy cuts her off making Oliver shoot daggers at him that only worsens when he says, </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I get it, I’m not your type...that’s cool, Oliver is pretty awesome too I guess, if you’re into the captain of the football team who’s trying to get on the honor roll and pave his own path or whatever…” He trails off with that dumb smirk again, and Oliver hopes he’s done, but then he keeps talking and Oliver wants to glue his mouth shut, </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’m Tommy by the way, it’s nice to meet you, Felicity was it? I can tell by the way Oliver’s glaring me to death at talking to you and his heart eyes, we’ll probably be seeing a lot of each other because I’m his best friend. I like you though, you’re quick witted and can hold your own. You're different, that’s good.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oliver’s eyes widen with every single embarrassing thing that passes Tommy’s lips and reaches Felicity’s ears but she just shakes her head and laughs at the buffoon before saying, “I look forward to getting to know you both as well, Thomas.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“It’s Tommy, only my mom calls me Thomas, and that’s only when I’m in trouble.” </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felicity gives Oliver a poor adorable attempt at a wink before turning back to Tommy. “I think I like Thomas better, but thanks for offering an alternative, Thomas.” Making Oliver laugh and Tommy roll his eyes with a groan as the teacher calls the class to start and they all turn to pay attention. </p>
<p> </p>
<hr/>
<p><br/><br/>They’re fifteen minutes from class ending when the teacher announces that during the middle of the school year they’ll have to give a presentation with the person behind them. Seeing as Oliver is the last in his row, that means that he is partnered with Felicity. The teacher quickly encourages them to talk with their partners to get an idea for what they want to present before class ends and Felicity turns to him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So, any suggestions?” She asks with a small smile, making his mind go blank.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Uh...I don’t know.... It’s European history so something European for sure.” He mentally slaps himself in the back of the head when she laughs and shakes her head lightly at his answer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“How about World War II? There’s a lot to cover there and it’ll ensure that we both have enough to research and cover individually…”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah, sure, that sounds fine.” Oliver nods giving her a smile. Looking at the clock he sees they still have time to kill and decides now is as good a time as any to get to know her, he goes to ask her a question when suddenly she blurts out,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So, you’re the captain of the football team?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Yeah, I am. I’m also trying to make the honor roll so I can get into a good college for more than athletics and get a degree in business.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“That’s admirable, I like that you want to make something of yourself outside of your physical capabilities…” She says this with a smile and her eyes soften. She looks like she’s contemplating what she’s about to say before she continues, “I’ve been on the honor roll a lot, I’ve also skipped a grade, I’m sort of a genius... “ She seems nervous as she says it, like she isn’t sure what his reaction will be. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oliver’s eyebrows shoot up at her admission, and his jaw drops a little. “Wow, so you must be like set to go to any college you want.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Well, yeah but my transcript could definitely use some extracurriculars but unique ones, you know to set me apart from the crowd for colleges, which is why I was actually thinking it’s lucky that you’re the captain of the football team.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oliver’s eyebrows furrow as he looks at her with a small chuckle. He tilts his head and asks, “Why, thinking of joining the boys football team or something?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Felicity raises one eyebrow at him, and lifts her chin defiantly, “Actually, yes, I am.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“No you’re not.” Oliver says loudly before quickly lowering his voice at seeing others look at them, before continuing, “You can’t join the football team.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Why not? Because I’m a girl?” At this point their faces are about six inches apart and Oliver’s heart is pounding. Of course it’s not because it’s a girl. Oliver’s no sexist, he helped Thea get on an all boys baseball little league team and outpitch their star pitcher. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>It is because Felicity is a <em> small </em> girl. She has to be like 5’4 and 125Ibs soaking wet. He wouldn’t even allow a <em> boy </em>that size on his team. They’d get murdered, the guys were all 5’7 or taller and pure muscle, some of them even intimidated Oliver. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hell, he was even apprehensive when Tommy said he wanted to join freshmen year before he had his growth spurt. But how does he tell her all of this without ruining any chance he possibly has with her?</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oliver goes to open his mouth and tell her exactly why she can’t join when the bell rings causing them to jolt apart. Felicity huffs out a ‘whatever Oliver’ and storms off as Oliver calls out for her and she ignores him. He drops his head to his desk and glares at Tommy when he says,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Man you’re already sleeping on the couch? You work fast.” Causing Oliver to hit him in the arm before getting up to go to their next class. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He has to try to figure out a way to get back on Felicity’s good side before he misses his chance with her completely. Because although Oliver can’t explain it, within a little over an hour of knowing her Oliver is so drawn to Felicity and mesmerized by her that his chest hurts at the thought of losing her. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He wants to make her happy, so that means explaining what he meant to her and trying to make it up to her, no matter what, because he can’t lose Felicity Smoak, especially not before he’s even had a chance to know her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. sunshine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Tommy intervenes and gets Oliver and Felicity to talk it out, we meet Thea and Oliver is in a towel...</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This took me a bit to work out, I'm juggling a few different stories atm and go where the muse takes me I guess. Just a note this starts off as Felicity's POV but only before the first line break, then it switches to Oliver's POV and remains as such. I did a poll and it seemed a lot of people wanted to see what Felicity thought of Oliver saying no, so I wanted to sneak that in there. </p><p>Also, keep in mind how serious things feel for teens in high school and how quickly feelings come and go. They are in every sense of the word babies.</p><p>As always thank you so much for reading, comments and kudos not necessary but always appreciated and welcome. ❤️</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Felicity is checking her phone when she feels someone watching her. Shutting her locker, she looks up and see’s Tommy standing next to her locker. Rolling her eyes she says, “Yes, Thomas?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, are we still doing the Thomas thing Ms. Smoak?” He has a playful mischievous grin on his face and she can’t help but smile back.</p><p> </p><p>“That is your name, is it not?” She asks.</p><p> </p><p>“My name is whatever you want it to be.” His smile widens as he says this and she rolls her eyes and shakes her head.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you want, Tommy?”</p><p> </p><p>“A big mopey birdie told me you want to join the football team an--,”</p><p> </p><p>Cutting him off, Felicity turns to face Tommy fully and puts a finger in his face making him cross eyed, “Listen here, Merlyn, if you’re here to tell me that big moody beauty Oliver is right and I shouldn’t join you can save it-”</p><p> </p><p>Grabbing her finger, Tommy gives her a blinding smile and kisses the tip, making her blush and pull her hand away abruptly. </p><p> </p><p>“I actually think if you want to join the football team, that’s your decision…” He trails off indicating to Felicity he has more to say so she waves her hand for him to continue. “Look, I don’t know you, Ollie explained why you wanted to do this, and it’s your decision, no one else can make it but you, do I think it’s dangerous? Sure, but all we can do is prepare you, maybe give you advice on other, <em> safer </em> ways for you to pad your extracurriculars and stand out. I do know Ollie and you probably think he’s sexist, but it’s less about that than you may think.”</p><p> </p><p>“So, you think it’s a dumb idea but you’re supporting me anyway?” She asks Tommy, clarifying everything he’d said.</p><p> </p><p>He gives her a small shrug and smile before nodding and saying, “The only person who can decide is you. It’s dangerous, but I’m sure we’d figure out a way if that’s really what you wanted and we’d protect you.”</p><p> </p><p>“And Oliver?” She asks.</p><p> </p><p>“How much time do you have?” Tommy asks back. Thinking it over she looks at her phone. She doesn’t have robotics today and no work, so she has time now that the school day is over, but still she can’t help but feel curious knowing that Tommy is Oliver’s best friend and he’s helping her anyway even though Oliver clearly wants her off the football team.</p><p> </p><p>“Why are you helping me?” She asks, tilting her head.</p><p> </p><p>“Look, Ollie cares, he isn’t some sexist pig that thinks you can’t do this because you have ovaries and boobs. When I told him I wanted to join, back when I was a tiny freshman and hadn’t hit my growth spurt yet, Ollie flipped, said I’d get pummeled, told me he’d quit football and we could do baseball or soccer together instead. It wasn’t that he didn’t think I <em> could, </em>it's that he was afraid I’d get hurt…”</p><p> </p><p>“But why would Oliver care if I got hurt, he just met me, he doesn’t even <em> know </em>me.” </p><p> </p><p>Tommy sighed, “There are some things that he should tell you...if you have time we could all hang out. I’m going to his house now, you should come.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll go if you answer one question.” Felicity gives Tommy a pointed look and he nods.</p><p> </p><p>“Why does he care?”</p><p> </p><p>“He likes you.” Tommy says with a shrug.</p><p> </p><p>“So because I’m a pretty girl?”</p><p> </p><p>“No. Ollie hasn’t even spoken to a girl in months, not since-” Felicity looks at him expectantly but he diverts,  “Even when he did care about dating and sex, even with Laurel, the one person he claimed to love, he never looked at anyone the way he looks at you. Even from that one class with you he seems heartbroken that he’s lost you before he got to know you, and you made him <em> smile, </em>really smile for the first time in months. Not a small smile that turns sad from guilt that he's smiling, but a genuine one. I want that for him, he’s my best friend, my brother… I want him to be happy.” As he finishes he looks down at his shoes and kicks his feet against the scuffed linoleum of the hallways.</p><p> </p><p>Felicity bites her lip and thinks back to her interaction with Oliver earlier. It seemed fairly basic only, it wasn’t. The way Oliver looks at her, with those beautiful piercing blue eyes that hold mischief, admiration, wonder, but also hold sadness, make her want to know what made them so sad, that make her want to make him smile...his eyes also hold something unknown, a sparkle she couldn’t name. </p><p> </p><p>But the way Oliver looks at her is anything but basic, he looks at her like she was heaven on earth and it was hard to look away.</p><p> </p><p>Only, she had forced herself to look away in that moment. She forced herself to walk away and not hear him out over the football thing, because she couldn’t afford to be hurt again the way Cooper had hurt her. So, she looked for the first sign that charming Oliver Queen was exactly the kind of guy she thought he was and forced him into that mold and put him in that forbidden box away from her heart. </p><p> </p><p>Felicity had heard of him, during her orientation, she’d heard whispers that he’d be returning after being missing all summer, that he’d broken up with some girl and was interning at his family's company. From what she knew he was a jock, his family was basically royalty in Starling having run one of the most successful tech companies in the city and he was incredibly handsome. </p><p> </p><p>She isn’t blind. Oliver is <em> gorgeous </em>, he’s tall, with a chiseled jawline, gorgeous smile, blue eyes, soft short blonde hair that looks like he runs his fingers through and it’s just right, and his muscles look like they’d pop out of any shirt he wears. He looks like a teen heartthrob whose poster every teen girl would hang on their wall. </p><p> </p><p>And Felicity <em> likes </em> him. From the first moment she saw him, something about him just felt right. He seems like the opposite of what she’d heard around, what she expected. His smile is kind, he speaks softly and seems to listen intently whenever she speaks...she feels comfortable and intrigued by him. But still she isn’t sure if she can <em> trust </em>him. Gnawing on her lip she looks at Tommy knowing she has to make a decision, by going with Tommy to Oliver’s house, she is making a decision. He goes to speak and Felicity cuts him off, “Okay, let's go then.”</p><p> </p><p>Tommy smiles widely. “Cool, lets go, do you have a car or do you want me to drive and we can take you home?”</p><p> </p><p>“My mom drove me, I’m saving for a car.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s cool, I can drive.” They walk to the school parking lot to Tommy’s car and head to Oliver’s.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Oliver is getting out of the shower after his jog when he hears a knock on the door, knowing that Tommy’s coming over he wraps the towel quickly around his waist and yells for him to come in. </p><p> </p><p>He’s happy Tommy didn’t ditch him today to hangout with some girl because he needs a distraction. He hasn’t been able to get Felicity out of his head and not in the, ‘this girl is really cute I want to hook up with her’ kind of way, no in the, ‘this girl is beautiful, I want to be her boyfriend, be the reason she smiles and never let her go’ kind of way.</p><p> </p><p>Which is dangerous because he’s supposed to be focusing on being better. Only he only thinks Felicity would <em> help </em>him be better. She’s driven, smart, is all set to go to college and do her own thing. </p><p> </p><p>Even after shortly meeting her, he knows that Felicity Smoak <em> will </em>do great things. But it doesn’t matter because she thinks he’s a sexist asshole and that he turned her down to be on the football team just because she’s a girl, which could not be further from the truth.</p><p> </p><p>He just cares, even after knowing her for barely two hours, he cares about her. He never wants to see her hurt, emotionally <em> or </em>physically and football is a brutal sport. So now she wanted nothing to do with him unless he could prove to her otherwise. </p><p> </p><p>He honestly gets the card she’s playing, she doesn’t want to be another smart applicant to colleges with the run of the mill extracurriculars like the chess team or debate club. She wants to stick out. Make a statement… But maybe he can help her figure out a way to do that without possibly getting crushed by a linebacker in the process.</p><p> </p><p>Walking out the bathroom Oliver freezes seeing Felicity come in behind Tommy. Tommy’s face splits into a wicked grin as he jumps on the bed with his arms behind his head while Oliver and Felicity stand there frozen.</p><p> </p><p>He visibly sees Felicity gulp as she looks from his eyes, down his body to his towel and back up, clearly checking him out. He generally doesn’t get nervous when girls check him out, but this isn’t any girl, this is Felicity, the girl that he’s known for less than a day and he already can’t stop thinking about. </p><p> </p><p>Swallowing the last bit of confidence he has as she meets his eyes he gives her a smirk and tilts his head while running his hands through his wet hair. Her eyes squint a little in defiance as a small smile broaches her lips, willing him to speak first. </p><p> </p><p>He shakes his head slightly because she walked away from him and didn’t let him explain, Oliver was more than willing to pine, but he had to know she was at least willing to talk to him again, clothes could wait. </p><p> </p><p>Sure he could guess by her being here that she was willing to at least hear him out, but he wasn’t one to assume. Finally she looks like she’s thinking and his sudden lack of clothes fully registers as he refuses to budge, a blush makes its way onto her cheeks and down her neck as she goes into a babble,</p><p> </p><p>“Tommy and I had a talk and he said you wouldn’t mind if I came, plus I figured if you’re saying no to me being on the team you may as well explain <em> why </em> if it’s not just me being a girl, before I write you off forever. But then we got here and Raisa said we could just come up, I didn’t know you’d be <em> naked </em>not that you’re completely naked naked, but in a towel or I would’ve stood in the hall or downstairs and waited, not that I don’t want to see, not that I do, just gah, shut me up please…,” Felicity puts her palm to her head and scrunches her nose in the most adorable way he’s ever seen that makes his chest constrict in adoration.</p><p> </p><p>He chuckles and shakes his head before saying, “It’s okay, Felicity...plus, I don’t mind you seeing me, not that I want you to see me naked, not that I don’t if you do...you know what? It’s just okay, I’m glad you came...I do have a reason, I’m just going to get dressed and then I’ll tell you...my reason.” </p><p> </p><p>He walks past her and turns to walk backwards while looking at her and pointing a thumb at the closet while Tommy laughs on the bed startling them both, they both look at him clearly forgetting he was there and blush. </p><p> </p><p>As he enters the closet he hears Felicity whisper something to Tommy and Tommy responds, “It’s like watching a train wreck, honestly. Two babbling fools.” </p><p> </p><p>Then he hears Felicity laugh too and can’t help but shake his head at them, happy that they get along. Oliver quickly gets dressed in shorts and a t-shirt before walking out of his closet. Felicity and Tommy have moved to the couch in front of the tv and Tommy is showing her different video games as she shakes her head at him.</p><p> </p><p>“What’re you two doing?” He asks, Felicity looks up at him and smiles as he approaches the couch directly behind her and places his hands on the worn leather, smiling down at her.</p><p> </p><p>“I told Tommy that we should get ahead on schoolwork and he said, we don’t have school work due until next week and doing school work on the first day of school is a legal offense and punishable by death, being that I don’t care to die, he’s told me I should let him beat me at a video game...So we’re trying to decide what video game that should be.”</p><p> </p><p>Tommy holds up NBA 2K12 and Felicity shakes her head again as she shifts for Oliver to sit next to her.</p><p> </p><p>“She’s said no to every game I’ve shown her, it’s ridiculous. What do you care what game you lose at?” Tommy asks with a scoff making Felicity smile at him and shrug before answering,</p><p> </p><p>“None of those appeal to me, plus how are you so sure I’m going to lose? I am a computer nerd, you know.”</p><p> </p><p>“You are no nerd.” He and Tommy say it at the same time. She blushes and rolls her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“I am, I’ve just grown into my looks and lost the braces.” </p><p> </p><p>Oliver catches her eyes and says softly, “I’m sure you were beautiful even then, besides even if you are a nerd, it’s an asset and I happen to like it.”</p><p> </p><p>Her blush deepens but she doesn’t back down and deflects again, “Oliver you wouldn’t have even looked at me two years ago, trust me.”</p><p> </p><p>He knows that she’s right, he was an asshole two years ago, but he also knows if he’d taken the time to know her then he’d still be drawn to her. So he shrugs and says, “All I have is right now, and right now, I know you’re smart, beautiful, funny and driven. I’m not the same person as I was two years ago and neither are you, but I like this me better anyhow.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiles widely at him and he knows he must’ve said something right as she drops it to turn to the games scattered on the table and picks up DC vs Mortal Kombat and tosses it to Tommy making him groan because it’s not a sports game.</p><p> </p><p>“Watch it Merlyn, I happen to like superheroes.” She turns to Oliver and says, “I still haven’t changed my mind, we need to talk about why you’re saying no. But that can happen later.” </p><p> </p><p>Oliver gives her a small smile and she turns to Tommy making grabby hands at the controller as the game starts up.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>They play games for two hours, Thea comes in and gets excited that another girl is there joining them. He and Tommy play video games while Felicity plays with Thea on the carpet with her ponies and dolls. </p><p> </p><p>They talk and all learn more about Felicity as the time passes. They learn she’s from Vegas, her mom got a better job in Starling as an event planner, her dad wasn’t in the picture, she had no siblings, she loved building and taking apart tech, swimming and couldn’t cook to save her life and she helped her mom serve for extra money to buy a car.</p><p> </p><p>Every now and then Oliver catches her eye and they smile at one another. At some point, Raisa brings them pizza and they put on a movie while they eat. Oliver finds himself surprised at how easy it is having Felicity there, in his space with his small circle. Sure he’s had girls over and hung out with them, but never like this. It’s always been with a purpose.</p><p> </p><p>This was easy, it was comfortable and he could just be himself. Felicity fit right in, Thea adored her, she kept up with Tommy and didn’t take shit and she was honest with him. Not even Laurel fit like this, she’d always get annoyed if he spoke to Tommy more than her, or they played video games for too long, and she <em> never </em>took the time to play with or even get to know Thea. Felicity was truly amazing. </p><p> </p><p>Lost in thought he didn’t realize that Raisa had come to put Thea to bed. She gives them all hugs saying goodnight and then turns to Felicity and says, “Thank you for making my Ollie, smile, he’s been so sad since daddy went to heaven, he acts happy but you make him <em> actually </em>happy. Will you come back and do it again?”</p><p> </p><p>They all look at Thea, caught off guard at the seven year olds bluntness, Felicity looks at him as she answers Thea’s question, “I certainly hope I can come back, it’s up to your brother though.”</p><p> </p><p>Thea turns to him and he smiles at Thea then looks back to Felicity and says, “She’ll come back soon, Speedy.”</p><p> </p><p>Thea shrugs not understanding the meaning behind anything they’re saying and shrugs before running to Raisa who’s waiting at the door. </p><p> </p><p>Raisa looks at him and says, “Mister Oliver, your guests are welcome to stay as always, Mrs. Queen will be back from her business trip at Central City on Wednesday evening.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, Raisa. Thank you for everything, I’ll let you know if they plan to stay.” Nodding Raisa follows after Thea out the room and shuts the door as Tommy stands from his seat on the couch.</p><p> </p><p>“Well buddy, I for one can’t stay, my dads out of town and Heather was going to sneak out and come play marco polo with me.” He wiggles his eyebrows at Felicity and she shakes her head and rolls her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re insufferable, Thomas.” She has a small smirk on her lips as she says this and Tommy just shrugs before asking,</p><p> </p><p>“That may be, but you love it. Want a lift home?” Felicity goes to answer. </p><p> </p><p>Oliver interrupts her saying, “I can take you! I mean, if you want to stay a bit longer?”</p><p> </p><p>“I mean you don’t have to, Tommy can take me…”</p><p> </p><p>“I want to, if you want to stay? Do you have a curfew?” He looks at her hopefully. </p><p> </p><p>She bites her lip before nodding and saying, “Yeah, okay I can stay for a bit longer. My moms not really the curfew type as long as I keep her posted she’ll be okay. I texted her earlier and she’s actually really excited that I’m here.”</p><p> </p><p>Nodding he looks to Tommy who is looking at them both with a smirk, “What?” Oliver asks.</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing, just know, when this happens, I take <em> full </em>credit and expect to be the best man at your wedding and god father to your children.”</p><p> </p><p>Felicity is sipping water and chokes as he says the last part causing Oliver to rub her back and glare at Tommy.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, that’s my queue. See you crazy kids later, Ollie remember, always ask for consent and no glove no love, k bye.” Tommy dashes out the room before Oliver can react and throw something at him.</p><p> </p><p>Then he realizes he’s alone with Felicity. Removing his hand quickly from her back he rubs it on his thigh anxiously. </p><p> </p><p>“We should talk…” She says this warily and it makes him even more nervous because he knows she wants a reason why he said she couldn’t join the football team and she deserves it, but he doesn’t know how to say it.</p><p> </p><p>“You want to know why I don’t want you to join the football team…” He says slowly and she nods. Turning to face her he looks in her eyes before he goes off on a long explanation,</p><p> </p><p>“I like you...I know it’s crazy because I just met you, but I like you. Even more now after spending this time with you here...and I want to get to know you, but I don’t want to ruin a chance before I’ve had one, so if you <em> really </em> want to I’ll put in a word for you to join the team and we’ll figure out the best position for you and I will do everything I can to make sure you’re safe while you’re on the field. But I didn’t say no because you’re a girl, if you were a boy your size I’d <em> still </em> say no, much like I flipped on Tommy when he was smaller and joined. Because it’s about your safety, I don’t want you to get hurt, someone <em> always </em>gets hurt playing football, and seeing you get hurt worries me. I get why you want to do it and I think it’s admirable and an amazing idea, but I also think if you’d let me, together we can come up with a safer sports alternative…”</p><p> </p><p>He takes a deep breath in and looks at Felicity hopefully, her head is tilted and she’s looking at him in wonder before she asks, “You really think we could find something safer and just as notable?” </p><p> </p><p>Nodding, Oliver says, “I do. And if we can’t I’ll train you in football myself.”</p><p> </p><p>Biting her lip she says, “Can I ask you something?”</p><p> </p><p>“Anything.” </p><p> </p><p>“Everyone says you’re sad, I get why now, especially after what Thea said, and Tommy alluded to. I can’t even imagine, but everything I’ve heard...reformed playboy jock, trying to be better and ready to take over your family company, focus on school, family and sports, not on girls and parties...why me? Why are you willing to throw that plan to get to know me? Why not try again with your ex everyone talks about?”</p><p> </p><p>Oliver looks at her and wonders how much he should give up so soon before deciding that honesty would be best.</p><p> </p><p>“When my dad passed, everyone thought I would spiral, that I would party more, cheat more, be more irresponsible...but when he passed I was just disappointed that he passed not seeing me at my best, not knowing that his legacy was secure, I mean I wasn’t my worst, but I know he and my mom worried. I didn’t spend the time with him and my family like I should’ve. So I reflected, I noticed I was in a toxic relationship, that I was in for convenience and even then I cheated and lied. I wasn’t a good role model for my sister and my mother had lost the love of her life… I wanted to ease the burden and the pain not cause more. So I did, I ended my toxic relationship, got an internship at QC to learn more about the family business, took a weekend job at Thea’s summer camp to be around her more, did a bunch of school work to boost my grades and just threw myself into being a better man, into growing. To get into college on my own merits, not just my athleticism or family name…”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s a lot of pressure you put on yourself Oliver, you’re already amazing and I have no doubt that your father would be proud.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, I just want to be worthy of his legacy, and I will be but I’m not yet. And to answer your question, you make me feel comfortable...you’re like sunshine, like I was sitting in a cold dark room and you gave me sunshine. That’s what seeing you and talking to you was like. And I think that you’d be good for me, you’d help me focus, relax but also you’re so driven that I also want to keep up with you, be worthy of you...plus I think that I could benefit you too, help you loosen up, take a break relax...opposites attract after-all...also, Laurel, it never felt like this not even after years. She was just my first everything and hard to let go at first.”</p><p> </p><p>“And now?”</p><p> </p><p>“Now I’m looking towards my future, not my past…” </p><p> </p><p>Nodding Felicity gives him a small smile and says, “Okay.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay?” Oliver asks.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, we can try to find an alternative to football. And, I like you too Oliver, just… I was hurt badly by my ex who was my first everything and we just met so let's get to know each other and take it from there...like today, today was nice. Let’s just be natural…” She looks at him like she’s nervous she upset him. Only, all he hears is that he gets to spend more time with her, that she likes him and that he actually has a chance.</p><p> </p><p>Smiling at her he nods and says, “Slow and natural...I like that plan.”</p><p> </p><p>Smiling back at him she gets up saying, “In the spirit of that, I should get home.” </p><p> </p><p>Oliver gets up and grabs his car keys as she gathers her stuff. He notices her shiver and realizes it’s gotten colder as it’s gotten later. Oliver walks into the closet, grabs his football hoodie and a Nike hoodie for himself and walks back out to where Felicity is waiting near the door. He holds the hoodie out to her and she raises her eyebrow in question to which he answers, “I noticed it’s a bit chilly…”</p><p> </p><p>Selfishly he keeps to himself how badly he wants to see her engulfed in his hoodie, biting her lip she nods before grabbing the hoodie and pulling it over her head leaving the hood up. She looks adorable and he can’t help but smile at her as the hoodie reaches her knees and she puts her phone in the pocket before smiling back at him. He pulls on his own hoodie, grabs his wallet and phone and they make their way out to his car and climb in.</p><p> </p><p>Turning on the engine Oliver turns to her and asks, “You like music?”</p><p> </p><p>She laughs and nods her head and answers, “Who doesn’t like music Oliver?”</p><p> </p><p>He shrugs and then starts to pull out of the driveway, “Heard the new Taylor Swift album? It’s really good, I like the song...”</p><p> </p><p>Her head whips to him with her eyebrows to her hairline and he pauses abruptly and blushes saying, “What? Guys like Taylor Swift too you know? She’s beautiful and has good lyrics plus my sisters seven. Look it’s whatever I’ll put on the Wallows or something...”</p><p> </p><p>“No, it’s okay, you have good taste. I love her new album, what’s your favorite song?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oof...just one?” He rubs the back of his neck and she can’t help but laugh while shaking her head.</p><p> </p><p>“So does Tommy know about your Taylor Swift obsession or is it a secret?”</p><p> </p><p>“Felicity please, it’s not an obsession, it’s a lifestyle, much like the Jonas Brothers and One Direction, and Tommy buys us the matching t-shirts.” He turns to her, winks and she starts laughing uncontrollably and the mental image she’s given.</p><p> </p><p>They drive and make small talk with Taylor Swift playing in the background, she programs their numbers into each other's phone and takes a selfie of them both while he drives. As Oliver parks in front of her house he turns to her and says, “Thank you…”</p><p> </p><p>“For what?” she asks with a small laugh.</p><p> </p><p>“For hanging with us, for being kind to Thea, for hearing me out about the football thing and for listening to me...just thank you.” He’s looking into her eyes and he reaches out to grab her hand. </p><p> </p><p>She squeezes his hand and smiles at him.“You never have to thank me for that Oliver, I had a really good time, I can’t wait to do it again if you want to of course.”</p><p> </p><p>“I do, I can’t wait. I’ll see you at school tomorrow?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yup, text me?” She asks with hope in her voice. </p><p> </p><p>He squeezes her hand and smiles. “Of course...can I kiss you? Just on the cheek…” </p><p> </p><p>She blushes before smiling and nodding. Oliver leans in and softly brushes his lips on her cheek before pulling away and whispering goodnight. Felicity returns his goodnight and he watches her go inside her house with a smile on his face in anticipation of tomorrow.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Twitter: Oliverslicity</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. I would wait forever and ever</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Things progress with Oliver and Felicity, including them figuring out a place for Felicity on the team. Oliver also has a surprise for Felicity.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi! It's been a while? I'm sorry about my hiatus, but I'm finishing up my undergrad and getting ready for law school and got a new job, but with thanksgiving break coming up I'm finally getting back into the swing of things and hopefully be able to be more consistent, in any case thank you all for being patient, for reading my fics and I hope you're safe and well.</p><p>This chapter is very specifically for Lettie, it was her birthday last week and I wanted a chapter that would be very on brand for her... I think this fits the bill, or I hope it does. Lettie te amo, you're the best ❤️</p><p>A note for this, it's set in 2015, for pop culture and technological circumstances. Oliver is 17 making Thea 7, Felicity is 16.</p><p>As always kudos and comments welcome and adored but not required.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>Oliver 5:45am:</b>
  <span> good morning 😌☀️</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Felicity 6:15am: 😞 </b>
  <span>please...do not tell me you wake up before 6am and please don’t tell me you’re a morning person…</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Oliver 6:16am: </b>
  <span>well...yes to both because I’d always have to be at football by 8 during the summer and you kind of get used to it...not so much when I have a hangover tho 😬</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Felicity 6:17am: </b>
  <span>that’s disgusting, Oliver. </span>
</p><p>
  <b>Felicity 6:17am: </b>
  <span>I’m not me before 8am with at least 4 cups of coffee.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Oliver 6:18am: </b>
  <span>😂that’s fair...anyway, do you want to drive to school with me? I can pick you up and we can even stop to get you your required coffee</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Felicity 6:20am: </b>
  <span>sure, just don’t judge my pre-8am grumpiness…</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Oliver 6:21am: </b>
  <span>😉wouldn’t dream of it, be there by 6:45</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Felicity 6:21am: </b>
  <span>can’t wait ❤️</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oliver pulls up to Felicity’s house and shoots her a text that he’s outside. He feels a sense of giddiness watching her door and waiting for her to come out. Looking down he makes sure his tie is straight, now that it’s the second day of school Starling Prep requires them to wear uniforms, unless of course it's a casual friday. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hears Felicity yell bye to her mom causing his head to whip up and follow the sound of her voice. His breath catches, she’s wearing a uniform just like every other girl sure, but it’s ten times more beautiful on her. Her hair is up in a sleek ponytail with her blonde curls falling behind her, the green and grey plaid skirt falls just above her knees, her white dress shirt is tucked in and she’s opted for a bowtie instead of a normal tie like nearly everyone else does, she paired it with a Starling Prep cardigan instead of the typical blazer as well and it’s just all very her, not to conform to even uniformity trends. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He smiles wide as he watches her approach his car and it turns to a grin when she grumpily looks at him and says, “Jeez, Oliver. Take a picture, it'll last longer.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a small laugh and not a second thought, Oliver whips out his iPhone, opens the camera and takes a picture, watching as her hand stops on the handle of the car and she freezes in shock that he actually took a picture.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the frack, Oliver?!” She exclaims opening the door and tossing her bag in the back as she turns to face him. Her brows are furrowed and her bottom lip is sticking out in a pout that he finds himself wanting to kiss away...badly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Grinning at her he says, “Good morning to you too, grumple. You told me to take a picture, so I did.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t being serious…” She says with a roll of her eyes, her arms cross at her chest and she pouts again. He really wants to make the pout go away. Turning to fully face her, he gives her a small smile and holds his phone out to her saying, “Here you can delete it if you want, but for the record, I like it and you look very beautiful.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gingerly, Felicity grabs the phone from his hand and goes to unlock it, before pausing, “I can unlock this without your help, but in honor of trust...want to put your passcode or thumbprint?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nah, I trust you, but also thank you? For not hacking my phone. My passcode is my birthday, 051698.” With that Oliver pulls out from in front of her house and heads towards the nearest coffee shop drive thru. Hearing Felicity huff, he looks at her from the corner of his eye and asks, “What?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oliver that’s a horrible passcode, anyone with knowledge of your birthday, which by the way is on </span>
  <em>
    <span>Google</span>
  </em>
  <span> could guess that… it should be something someone typically wouldn’t guess.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okayyyyy, so when’s your birthday?” Oliver asks with a grin while putting on his Ray Ban sunglasses.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“July 24th… I just turned sixteen this summer.” She says.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So, July 24th, 1999...make my passcode that, 072499...no one would guess that right?” He pulls into the drive thru behind the car and smiles as he sees her blush. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oliver, it can’t be that…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why not?” He asks, lifting his sunglasses and looking at her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know because… what if you forget?” She rolls her eyes and he taps her shoulder for her to look at him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I won’t forget, it’s about you and you’re all I’ve been able to think about and it's only been </span>
  <em>
    <span>one day. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Plus, I have a feeling, if I did forget, which I won’t, I’d know just the girl to go to to help me break into it.” He finishes giving her a blinding smile and she tilts her head looking at him with confusion. “What?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about me getting into your phone, privacy?” She asks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rolling his eyes he laughs and pulls up further in the drive thru before saying, “Felicity, you just said so yourself, you don’t need me to give you my passcode for you to access my phone, but you still asked anyway, proving you wouldn’t go through it without my knowledge. Also, I have nothing to hide, if we’re doing this...seeing where it goes or whatever, I’d rather be transparent, more likely than not there will be nothing in my phone that you wouldn’t know from me beforehand.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She lets out a small ‘hmph’ and tilts her head again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Felicity, </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nothing it’s just...you’re nothing at all what I expected you to be, which I realize isn’t fair to you but I had heard things and my ex was a football player, but he wasn’t always a football player and the popularity and no longer being a nerd got to him… I just have trust issues and you keep proving my expectations wrong...it’s jarring.” She lets out an exhale.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before he can ask anything else he gets her coffee order and gives it to the barista, while they wait in silence for their coffee Oliver thinks over what she just confessed. Her insecurities come from her ex obviously who’d hurt her badly, and because of that she expected the same from him especially with what she’d heard about him and his social status. Had she said this before his father passed away, she’d probably be right. But that wasn’t him anymore and even the idea of hurting her made his stomach twist.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She knew about his past and his skeletons, but this was the first information about herself she’d given him. He knew she had a past that’s why she was insecure no doubt, without reason in his opinion because she was perfect to him. He found himself wanting to know more about her ex and what happened. Passing Felicity, her coffee and placing his in the cupholder he pulled out and towards the school. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Will you tell me more about him? Your ex, what happened?” Oliver asks hesitantly. Felicity takes a sip of her iced coffee through the straw and then lets out a sigh making Oliver want to take back his question only before he does, she starts to speak.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Cooper was my first everything, he was the only boyfriend I ever knew. I started dating him in the eight grade when I was twelve and we ended over the summer a week after my birthday. We didn’t have a conventional relationship, I’ve never even been on a real date, we’d always stay home, play video games, do schoolwork  and code. Cooper and I were alike in a lot of ways, smart, into technology, into laying low and not being in cliques or crowds.” Taking in a deep breath Felicity turned to look out the window before continuing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Something changed, he went to gym one day, the coach told him he was good at football and Cooper became super excited, started training non-stop, which I supported, it was nice to see him driven and happy. But then he made the team, he ignored me in the halls and I’d only see him one day a week after school. I asked him if he wanted to break up, I had found out I was skipping a grade, my mom got a better job and I got a scholarship here at Starling Prep which also meant we were moving. But he refused, he said we could ‘work on my image, make me less invisible and do long distance...”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When did all this start? You just turned sixteen you said so you had to be younger?” He asks, trying to follow along with her fast paced story.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Beginning of our sophomore year last year is when he officially made the team, right in time for the start of the season…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So you were with him throughout the year?” Oliver knew the answer, but honestly the thought of this guy treating her this way and making her feel like she had to be any other way but herself was making him angry.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yup… I thought we could find a median, between what he wanted and who I was. I grew into my looks which was lucky for me and in a way, I guess, dyed my hair blonde…,” At this Oliver’s eyebrows shoot up and he looks at her head as he stops at a red light. Turning to him she squints and says, “I’m a brunette, tell no one or else.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With wide eyes, he nods and she continues. “So we got to the point where people could see us together in public or whatever he deemed acceptable. But still I sacrificed a lot, I was expected to go to every game, every party and when I wanted to do things we used to do he said we couldn’t do nerdy things like that anymore. I started to stop at that point, I saw myself getting lost in him and didn’t like it. Towards the end of the school year we were apart more than together but I still cared about him so much, every now and then I’d get a glimpse of the old Cooper...well not really, now I see he was manipulating me. It started to go downhill with the rumors of cheating on his part that I ignored and then him telling me that he felt disconnected from me physically.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oliver’s breath hitches in his throat, seeing where this is going. His fist grip the steering wheel in anger forcing his knuckles to turn white. They’re about five minutes from the school but he knows the story is nearly done. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He started to say how the guys on the team all thought it was weird he was still a virgin since we’d been together since we were kids. I kept telling him I didn’t feel comfortable with that given how poor our relationship had been. Then overnight he changed, started buying me flowers, leaving sweet notes in my locker and coming over to my house more after school. Summer started and he kept it up, saying he wanted to prove how good we were together...eventually my birthday came and I finally thought we were good and I couldn’t see myself losing my virginity to anyone else… I thought we’d make it work, so we had sex. It was fine as far as first times go, I guess… a week later I had one week left in Vegas and Cooper said he didn’t think we loved each other enough to workout long distance, he dumped me and I haven’t heard from him since… I moved here and didn’t look back. Although I saw on instagram he’s dating some cheerleader he said he didn’t cheat on me with so...yeah.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oliver pulls into his parking spot and turns to Felicity. She’s still facing the window and half of her coffee is gone. Reaching over, Oliver gently grabs her hand and intertwines their fingers causing her to look at him. A tear rolls down her face and he feels his heart break as he reaches up to wipe it away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Felicity…” His voice cracks with emotion as he speaks and he clears his throat and continues, “I am so sorry he did that to you, it wasn’t right and you deserve so much better. He didn’t deserve you...but I’m not him and if you give me a chance I will prove that to you. I’d love to be seen with you, take you on dates, to dances, do face masks in my room while we watch movies you like and eat pizza, go on adventures...I won’t lie some of my friends are dicks, Laurel might try to terrorize you because you aren’t her and she’ll act out, but I’ll never treat you differently because of who I am, who my friends are or because we’re a bit different. I promise I’ll try my best to alway make you happy and to be honest and try to communicate. And I hope you do too… but I understand trust is earned.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She smiles at him through watery eyes and he returns it. “Thank you for saying that...Can we still take this slow though?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, of course. Consider me a snail.” He grins at her and she laughs. Bringing her hand to his lips, he kisses the back softly making her blush. “Ready for school?”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As I’ll ever be.” She says grabbing their bags they make their way out of the car and into the building.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s been a long week. Since telling Oliver about Cooper, she’s felt better now that both of their cards were all out on the table, but also worse in that she was the main reason they couldn’t move forward. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Throughout the week they had only three classes a week together, they sat together everyday at lunch, which surprised her how accepting he and his friends were, she found herself becoming easy friends with Sara and her girlfriend Nyssa along with John Diggle’s and Slade Wilson’s girlfriends, Lyla and Shado. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were all really nice and even supported her exploration and experiment to find a spot on the football team. Then of course, Tommy, she found herself incredibly close with him. They had more classes together, hangout even without Oliver and he gave her advice about how she was feeling.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t just have Oliver’s friends though, she’d found friends of her own, through science and computer science classes she met Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow who were really quirky and smart just like her, and Oliver and his friends even let them join for lunch. Now that she had friends and a steady schedule she felt stable for the first time since Cooper and was really excited for her senior year with the people she had met. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her and Oliver had made charts of football positions for her to try and see what position might be best for her, they study together everyday after school and hangout after, sometimes alone sometimes with their friends, they hold hands and kiss each other but only on the cheek and are basically inseparable, but they haven't tried any football yet since they agreed that they would try them over the weekend at Oliver’s house.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Which brought her to her anxiety as the day began to end this friday. The last period of the day was about to end and then they would be on their way to the Queen’s mansion, where she would meet Moira Queen, who was always working when she was there with Oliver over the week, and even though Oliver had met her mom, which was traumatizing, she felt the Queen matriarch was going to be a whole different ball game and Felicity was worried.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felicity jumped as the bell rang, shaken from her thoughts. Exiting her class, she starts towards her locker when Oliver comes from behind her and throws his arm over her shoulder while leaning down to kiss her on the cheek. She melts into him and he smiles at her with a mischievous glint in his eye making her raise her eyebrows in question.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hi, are you set to go?” Oliver asks excitedly.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why are you in such a rush for your mother to hate me, Oliver?” She says self deprecatingly with a roll of her eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please, my mother has been talking about how excited she is to meet you since I told her you were coming on Tuesday night. She’s asked about you and I told her whatever she wanted to know. Plus, I figured we’d play football until dinner, shower…” He pauses blushing and she has to laugh because she’s already seen him and most of their friends shirtless while watching them practice. “...separately obviously.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Obviously yes…” Felicity says with a small laugh as she puts her books in her locker.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then have dinner which should finish by eight if we start at seven like I plan and then I have a surprise.” He finishes with a small smile bouncing on his feet.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A surprise? For me?” Felicity asks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you Felicity Smoak?” He asks in reply.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The one and only…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then yes, a surprise, for you.” He says matter of factly grabbing her bag from her and slinging it over his shoulder as they walk towards his car.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oliver, you didn’t have to…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wanted to.” He cuts her off.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Getting into the car he handed her his phone as they buckled up, typing in his code she pulled up his Spotify and put on the last thing they were listening to which happened to be a playlist of Taylor Swift, The Jonas Brothers, Panic at the Disco, Shawn Mendes and One direction.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually can you just put on the Taylor Swift Playlist? I’m in the mood to listen to her today.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah sure.” Felicity responds and puts on Taylor’s 1989 album as he drives towards his house.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once they’re changed into their workout clothes they go to the giant backyard of the Queen’s mansion that they’ve had set up with football, baseball and gym equipment, no doubt to keep Oliver in shape year round. Looking at the list Felicity says, “First up is… kicker..” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, that should be fairly quick to gauge if that’s for you or not.” He says as he sets up the ball on the ground holding it up for her. Looking at her he smiles and says, “Okay, so you want a running start and then you’ll kick it, try to get your foot underneath the ball so that it gets air and goes further. We’ll try it a couple of times until you get it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nodding, Felicity eyes the ball and runs towards it kicking it as hard as she can, hissing at the sting of the contact. The ball flies through the air but not far. Oliver nods and says, “Okay, lets try it again.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So they do, and they make their way through the list until they’re both sweating and lying on the grass. Oliver looks over at her and says, “So I think, backup QB or long snapper would be best.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She knows he’s saying this to be supportive and nice because she wasn’t really good at anything they’d done and the whole time she was thinking about the math and angles behind everything and how to efficiently complete the task, but the problem was she wasn’t physically strong enough.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know I’m no good…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But you will be, we’ll practice-wait Felicity, you helped me improve my throw…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well yeah, if you let the ball go at-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, I didn’t even think about it but you could be an offensive coordinator and make our plays, improve our stats, analyze us to make better plays and help manage the team! It’s perfect you’re a genius you’d be excellent at it and the coach has been interviewing people from AP statistics but no one has stuck and you’re in college level calculus, you’d be perfect.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felicity took in everything he just said, he was right, that would be perfect for her and it would look great on her transcript for college. With a bright smile she threw herself at him and hugged him while they rolled on the ground. “You’re a genius!” She exclaimed.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blushing, Oliver smiled and said, “Welcome to the team, rookie.” The sun was getting low as it approached seven, Felicity had hands on either side of him as she pushed herself up to hover over him. He leaned up to follow her causing their noses to brush together and her breath to hitch. She could feel his breath on her face and she started to lean down to kiss him, to finally kiss him after a long week when Thea ran out onto the balcony and yelled,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dinner is almost ready! Get off the ground and shower, you weirdos!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that Thea ran back inside leaving them both flustered and frozen. Pushing back from Oliver a bit, Felicity says, “We should probably go get ready for dinner…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah…” Oliver replies with a thick gulp. They both pull away, getting off the ground and onto their feet as Oliver pulls her up. They look around at the football stuff scattered around and glancing at her Oliver says, “You go ahead and shower in the guest room next to mine, I’ll clean this up and be right behind you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She nods looking at him closely after their almost kiss, he seems far away as if he almost regrets that it happened and she finds herself shuffling from doubts that maybe he doesn’t actually like her after all. Without another word she turns on her heel and towards the guest room.</span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Oliver showers he can’t help but think of how him and Felicity almost kissed and how excited he was. But that was followed instantly with fear and regret. Fear that he’d scare her away and regret that she expressed she wanted to take it slow and he stupidly almost kissed her after just a </span>
  <em>
    <span>week. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An incredibly amazing week at that. They’d spent everyday together and he loved every second of it. Now she was meeting his mother and she probably wanted to run for the hills if her face after they almost kissed was any indication. She looked broken. Now he just hopes he can fix it because if he thought he liked Felicity after one day, it was nothing compared to how he feels now after a week and he felt his feelings would only deepen the longer he spent with her. </span>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felicity knocked on his door as he was putting on his shoes and he yelled for her to come in. When she opened the door and walked in his breath caught on his throat.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was dressed simply but she was still so beautiful. Her hair was damp, her skin sun kissed from her day outside playing football, she wore skinny jeans and a white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up that looked oversized but adorable on her along with tan sandals. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking back up at her after taking her in, he saw her blush and gave her a small smile. She went to speak but he cut her off saying, “I’m sorry about before…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her mouth opens in a small ‘O’ shape, she looks down at her feet and she quickly responds, “No, Oliver don’t be, it’s okay...I get if you don’t like me in that way anymore. I-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, what? Felicity, no.” Oliver states simply going to stand in front of her, he places his finger under her chin to get her to look at him and her sad eyes break his heart. Giving her a forlorn grin he says, “I like you in that way… a lot. I just…” He sighs trying to figure out the right way to say what he’s thinking without sounding desperate or standoffish and continues, “You wanted to take it slow, and I want to respect that. If we did that I thought maybe you’d regret it, that’s why I apologized. At any point you want things to change you tell me and I’d be more than willing to date you...properly of course.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A small smile grows on Felicity’s face as she nods and his hand falls from her face to hold her hand she says, “Oh...that makes more sense. Thank you for being so nice about all of this, Oliver and for respecting me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Putting her hands on his chest she rises up on her toes to kiss his cheek making him blush in turn. As she stands back she looks him over, he’s dressed casually in a henley, jeans and boots, as she looks back to him she asks, “You’re sure this outfit's okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Very sure, you look beautiful and it’s perfect for my surprise later.” He replies, kissing her cheek as they walk down to the dining room hand in hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As they walked in, his mom stood up with a smile looking down at their hands, Felicity went to drop his hand but he didn’t let her shaking his head as they walked over to Moira he introduced Felicity saying, “Mom this is Felicity Smoak, Felicity this is my mom.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felicity drops his hand and holds it out to Moira saying, “Mrs. Queen it’s so nice to meet you, thank you for having me and allowing me to come over this week.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a wide smile at Felicity’s politeness no doubt and replies, “Felicity, dear, please call me Moira. It’s so nice to finally meet the girl that’s made my beautiful boy smile so much lately, I’ve heard about you nonstop from both Oliver and Thea. But I must say, it is I who should thank you for bringing light back into this house.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Felicity blushes as he looks at his mom mortified at her oversharing, but Felicity takes it in stride saying, “Thank you, Moira. I enjoy being surrounded by them too, they’ve been very welcoming.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well I look forward to learning more about you and seeing you more, my dear. Come, let’s eat. I know you both have somewhere to be soon.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that they sit to eat, and Oliver questions why he was even the tiniest bit nervous because since his father's death and Oliver’s turn around she’s been welcoming of anything that made him or Thea the slightest bit happy whereas before she was inflexible and callous now she was warm and welcoming. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While she was skeptical of Felicity at first given where she came from, Oliver told her how smart she was and how hard she was working to get a scholarship into college and all of her doubts subsided.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dinner was filled with stories of Oliver and Tommy’s youth, Thea’s day at school and college plans. As they stand after he looks to his mother and asks, “Mom my plans for after are still okay?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes dear, we spoke and everything is set up, have fun both of you. Felicity, I will see you soon.” Moira and Felicity exchange a brief hug and Moira hugs and kisses him on the cheek and whispers in his ear, “She's wonderful, sweetheart, you seem really happy.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you mom. She really is great.” He says quietly, pulling away he looks at Felicity and asks, “ready to go?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yep!” She answers with excitement, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the door. Once they’re in the car she turns to him, lowering the Taylor Swift song and asks, “Can you tell me now?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Laughing Oliver answers, “Yes, we are going to a Taylor Swift concert…” He watches her reaction turn from shock to awe to excitement and her smile split open wide as he throws her arms around him over the car counsel and says, “Oh my god! Oliver, thank you!! You didn’t have to! Wait, how? Why?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wanted to do a big gesture to show you how grateful I am to know you and have you in my life plus, you know I love me some T-Swift. And so do you! When I found out she had a concert here that was in the venue that QC owns part of, I asked my mom and she helped me set it up...they’re actually backstage passes…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oliver, thank you so much...no one has ever done anything like this for me before it’s too much I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.” She says it with tears in her eyes and a small smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cupping her cheek he answers, “You deserve the world and if doing this makes you this happy, I’ll never hesitate. I don’t need repayment ever. I just wanted to treat you the way you deserve to be treated and I will, and this doesn’t have to be a date, don’t worry I don’t expect anything. I-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What if I want it to be a date?” Felicity asks, biting her lower lip, making Oliver’s eyes go wide.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Like a date-date?” He asks.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, yeah an official date if you-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, no. I want, I really do...yeah okay, cool… a date. Thank you? I am not usually this flustered, I had this whole plan, my mom spoke to your mom-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait, WHAT?!” Felicity screams cutting him off, “My </span>
  <em>
    <span>mother, Donna Smoak</span>
  </em>
  <span>, spoke to your mother, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Moira Queen</span>
  </em>
  <span>, oh god…” She says in horror, making him laugh as he pulls out of his driveway and holds her hand in his. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Felicity it was fine, they got along great, my mom just wanted to check with yours to make sure it was okay with her that you slept over here after the concert…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I- wait, my mom said yes? Oh that makes so much sense why she texted me to be smart… oh god she thinks we’re going to have sex… oh god, wait I don’t have clothes…” She starts to babble and trails off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Oliver squeezes her hand in reassurance before saying, “All taken care of, my mom had someone pick up an overnight from your mom and she said you could even stay until monday and come home after school...if you want to of course, I’m having some people over tomorrow too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure that’d be fun.” He looks at her as he stops at a red light, and she smiles brightly at him, nodding her head profusely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay awesome...so the date…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The date, the first of many hopefully…”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh definitely, now please turn up Taylor Swift we need to be vibing when we get there.” He says this quickly leaning over to kiss her cute dimple then turns back to drive towards the concert as she turns up the volume and they both sing Taylor Swift with happy smiles on their faces and promises of more.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed.</p><p>Twitter: oliverslicity</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thank you so much for reading. Stay well.</p><p>Twitter: Oliverslicity</p></blockquote></div></div>
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